Game apparatus



Nov. 17, 1936. w. A. TRATSCH ET AL. 2,060,960

GAME APPARATUS Filed May 15, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORSI Walter A. Fatah 77/[l/E ATTORNEY5',

Y Nov. 17, 1936. w. A. TRATSCHET AL 7 2,060,960

GAME APPARATUS Filed May 15, 1955 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Riga): v

22 26 10 7 flmmlmlwlwlllrllllml 11 INVENTORS Walter A Faisal:

- UNITED STATES Patented Nov. 17, 1936 PATENT OFFICE GAME APPARATUS Walter A. Tratsch and Bernhard C. Grunig Chicago, Ill.

Application May15, 1935, Serial No. 21,494

2 Claims- (Cl. 1941) This invention'relates to a game apparatus.

It is an object of this invention to provide 'an improved game apparatus which is relatively simple and inexpensive in construction and efflcient in use.

Another object of this invention is to provide a game apparatus, of the so-called pin and marble type, embodying a ball elevating device, a coin slide, a runway for feeding spent balls to 10 the elevating device, and a cut-off device for preventing the passage of balls from the runway into the elevating device when thecoin slide is moved inwardly from coin-receiving position 'towardor into coin-discharging position;

'15 Another object of the invention is to provide a cut-01f device which constitutes an improvement' over the cut-01f device shown and described in the Paulin and Froom, Patent No. l,938,495,'issued December 5, 1933, on a Game apparatus.

A' further object of the'present invention is to provide a cut-off device which is moved into effective position, that is, into position to cutoff or prevent the passage of balls from the inclined runway to the elevating device, before-the coin slide completes its inward movement or operative stroke, that is, before the coin slide moves the so-called shuffle board" or ball-retaining member into ball-releasing position, as distinguished from the cut-oii device in the Paulin and Froom patent, which is not moved into effective or cut-01f position until the slidable ball retaining member is moved into ball-releasing position. I 35 Another objectof the present invention is to provide a cut-off device which is in no way associated with or operated by, the slidable ballreleasing member, as is the cut-off device in the Paulin and Froom patent, but which is, on

40 the other hand, entirely independent of the ballretaining member and is moved into effective position, by the action of the coin-controlled member, prior to the time the ball-retaining member is moved into efiective or ball-releasing 45 position.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel combination and arangement of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

5 The invention will be best understood by refof the cabinet broken away'to reveal the operating parts; and 'showing'the cut-off device in its initial or ineffective position;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the cut-off device in eiiective or operative position;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the latching mechanism associated with the ballretaining member in unlatched position;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional View on line 4-4 '10 in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view on'line 5--5 in Fig. 3.

A game apparatus embodying a preferred form of the present invention is shown in the drawings, is therein generally indicated at l0, and comp-rises a cabinet ll'which includes an inclined playing board l2 having ball exit openings I3 therein.

Slidably mounted in the cabinet H 'below the inclined playing board IZ'is a so-called shufile board or ball-retaining member M,-which is provided with ball exit openings l5, and these ball exit openings l5 are adapted to be registered with the ball exit openings 13 in the inclined '25 playing board [2, by movement of the ball-retaining member 14, so as to discharge the spent balls from the exit openings I3'below the inclined playing board l2 for return, by way of an inclined transverse runway IE, 'to a point adjacent to or into the elevating device ll.

Slidably mounted in the lower end wall N3 of the cabinet II is a coin slide l9 which has a curved cam edge 21 at its inner end; this cam edge 21 being formed at one corner of the coin slide H3, at the intersection of the inner edge 28 thereof with one longitudinal edge 20' of the same. This cam or curved edge 2'! of the coin slide I9 is engageable with an upstanding portion or arm 2| of a cut-off member 22, which is pivotally mounted in the cabinet II, as at 23, by means of a laterally extending arm 24 which is attached to the cut-01f member 22.

The cut-off member 22 projects through an opening 25'which is provided in a wall 29 which is arranged in the cabinet H, and the cut-off member 22 has an angled arm 26 which is adapted to be projected across the inclined ball runway IB'to the elevating device H; the cutoiT member 22 being normally urged, by a spring 30, in a direction to dispose the angled end portion26 thereof out of the ball runway 16.

Pivotally mounted in the cabinet II, as at 3|, is a latch member 32 which has a notched portion 33 and this notched portion 33 is engageable with a keeper plate 34 which is attached to the slidable ball-retaining member l4 on the bottom side of the latter (Fig. 4), and a spring 42 normally urges the latch member 32 in a direction to dispose the notched portion 33 thereof in latching engagement with the keeper plate 34.

Pivotally mounted in the cabinet II, as at 35, is a bar 36 and carried by this bar 36, and depending therefrom, on the bottom side of the latter, is a lug or pin 31 which is adapted to engage the arcuate cam edge 38 of the latch member 32.

Likewise carried by the pivotal bar 36 on the bottom side of the latter is a pin or lug 39 which is engageable with a notched portion 40 which is provided in the coin slide IS.

The foregoing arrangement is such that when the coin slide I 9 is pushed inwardly, the cam or curved edge 21 thereof engages the upstanding portion 2| of the cut-01f member 22 and thereby pivots the cut-off member 22, against the action of its resetting spring 30, in a direction to dispose the angled arm 26 thereof across the inclined runway [6 at a point adjacent the lower end of the latter, so as to prevent balls from traveling down the runway l6 into the elevating device ll when the coin slide I9 is moved from coin-receiving position.

It is to be noted that in the present game apparatus the cut-off member 22 is moved into efiective or cut-off position, that is, the angled end portion or arm 26 of the cut-off member 22 is projected across the runway l6, prior to the time that the coin slide I9 moves the slidable ball-retaining member l4 into ball-releasing position, as distinguished from the cut-01f device in the Paulin and Froom patent, in which patent the cut-off device is not moved into operative or 'efiective position until the slidable ball-retaining member is moved into ball-releasing position; and it will also be noted that the cut-off device 22-26 of the present invention is entirely independent of the ball-retaining member M as distinguished from the cut-off device of the Paulin and Froom patent which is released for movement into efiective position by operation of the ballretaining member.

As the coin slide I9 is pushed inwardly (top to bottom, Figs. 1, 2 and 3) the notched portion 40 thereof engages the pin 39 which is carried by the bar 36 and thereby pivots the latter (clockwise, Figs. 1, 2 and 3). This movement of the bar 36 causes the pin 31 carried thereby to engage the arcuate cam edge 38 of the latch member 32 and thereby pivots the latter, against the action of its resetting spring 42, (clockwise, Figs. 1, 2, and 3) in a direction to release the notched portion 33 thereof from latching engagement with the keeper plate 34; and as the coin slide l9 continues to move inwardly the end portion 4| of the pivotal bar 36 engages the keeper plate 34 and thus pushes the slidable ball-retaining member l4 into ball-releasing position.

By reason of the latching device 32--33-34 the player is prevented from fraudulently moving the ball-retaining member l4 into ball-releasing position without operating the coin slide l9, which might otherwise be accomplished by shaking the cabinet H back and forth in the direction of its long axis.

When the coin slide is retracted into its initial or coin-receiving position, the. spring 42 again spirit of the invention.

acts upon the latch member 32 to engage the notched portion 33 thereof with the latch keeper 34, and the spring 30 acts upon the cut-off member 22-26 to retract the angled end portion or arm 26 thereof out of the runway l6 so that spent balls may be fed one at a time into the elevating device l1, it being understood that the purpose of the cut-off device 22--26 is to prevent the player from fraudulently operating the apparatus while holding the coin slide l9 pushed in, that is, out of coin-receiving position.

vWhile we have illustrated and described the preferred form of construction for carrying our invention into effect, this is capable of variation and modification, without departing from the We, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail ourselves 'of such variations and modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention what we claim asnew and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a game apparatus, the combination of: a cabinet including a member providing a playing surface and said member having a ball exit opening formed therein; means for projecting balls one at a time over said playing surface so that they may enter into said exit opening; means for elevating balls one at a'time up onto said playing surface from a point below the same; an inclined runway in said cabinet below said playing surface for conducting spent balls to said elevating means; means for temporarily retaining therein a ball which enters into said exit opening; a coin-controlled member movably mounted in a wall of said cabinet and adapted to move said ball-retaining means into ball-releasing position; a cut-off member movably mounted in said cabinet and having a portion movable into said runway to prevent the passage of balls down the latter to said elevating means; said second-named and coin-controlled member moving said cut-off member into effective position to prevent the passage of balls down said runway to said elevating means prior to the time said ball-retaining means is moved into ball-releasing position; means normally latching said ball-retaining means against movement, and means coacting with said second-named and coincontrolled member for moving said latching means out of latching engagement with said ballretaining means and for moving said ball-retaining means into ball-releasing position after said cut-off member has been moved into effective or ball-releasing position.

2. In a game apparatus, the combination of a cabinet including an inclined playing board having a ball exit opening therein; a member slidably mounted in the said cabinet below said playing board and adapted to temporarily retain therein a ball which enters into said exit opening; means normally latching said second-named and ball-retaining member against operation; a lever for releasing said latching means, and a coin-controlled member slidably mounted in a wall of said cabinet for operating said lever to release said latching means from latching engagement with said ball-retaining member and for moving the latter into ball-releasing position.

WALTER A. TRATSCI-I. BERNI-IARD C. GRUNIG. 

